Angels a Big Disapointment

I was away on vacation the last few weeks so I'm glad I didn't see a minute of the Angels getting swept out of the playoffs as the number 1 seed. I understand that the Royals are hot right now, but for the team with the best record in baseball not to win at least one game holding the home field advantage is a major let down. Angels were the highest scoring team in the league yet managed only 6 runs in 31 innings.

All the money and star power and they didn't get it done. Mike Trout, considered the best player in baseball, went 1 for 12. Albert Pujols and his $240 million salary went 2 for 12. Worse even was Josh Hamilton, who went 0 for 13. Hamilton was upset that Angels fans booed him, but they had a right too. He signed a $133 million contract with the Angels has done little to help the team win. Hamilton even said, "I don't think we played poorly." Really? The Angels win streak at the end of the season came without Hamilton in the lineup...coincidence? I don't know if anyone, but the players can answer that, but they were swept by the Royals with Hamilton back. To me, both Hamilton and Pujols have been epic failures that will cost the Angels for many years to come. The Angels parted with several top prospects and 1st round picks to sign those two.

It's not all on the offense though. C.J. Wilson lasted just 2/3s of an inning. The bullpen, which was great since acquiring Jason Grilli and Huston Street, took losses in games 1-2.Grilli and Street became non-factors when Fernando Salas took the lost in Game 1 and Kevin Jespen gave up the winning run in Game 2.

Still if the Angels could have put up a few more runs, Grilli and Street would have been a factor and I would be writing a different post. Both will be free agents next season. Street will likely be resigned, but after that the money gets thin. There is some hope for next season with rookie starters Garrett Richards and Matt Shoemaker, but what happens when their contracts are up?

The Angels mortgaged the future to win today...so far that's added up to 0 playoff wins.

Tony Parker, Mike Trout, and Joe Flacco

I'm going to continue with the "three things" theme from last week.  This week it's three players from the big three sports...Parker from my favorite NBA team the Spurs, Trout from my favorite MLB team the Angels, and Flacco who just became the highest paid player in NFL history.

Is Joe Flacco worth the contract he got?  I would say no, but it's hard to fault the Raven's organization for being willing to pay 120.6 million for 6 years to the QB that just led you to a Super Bowl win. 

In an article titled, I'm Worth What I'm Worth, on the Los Angeles Times website, Flacco said "Listen, winning the Super Bowl and winning the Super Bowl MVP doesn't make me as valueable as I am."  I'm disagreeing with Flacco on that point.  If he doesn't win the Super Bowl and the MVP, Flacco doesn't get this contract...I'm positive on that.

Flacco does have a few accomplishments to back him up.  He tied Joe Montana for the best TD/INT performance in a playoffs with 11 TDs and 0 INTs.  No QB has won a playoff game in his first 5 seasons...except Flacco.  No QB has won more road games in the playoffs (6).  He is tied with Brady with 9 playoff wins in his first five seasons.  He hasn't missed a start and 63 regular season wins is the highest total for any QB over the last 5 years.

On the other hand, Flacco has "only" a 60.2 career completion percentage, never passed for over 4000 yards, and never thrown for more than 25 TDs in a season.  In the current passing era, that doesn't put you in the status of top QBs in the league.  His TD-to-INT numbers are 102/56.  The most surprising thing I saw was that Flacco has never been voted to the Pro Bowl.

Does those last two paragraphs add up to the highest paid NFL player ever?  Not in my book. I like the guy, but he's now going to have to face the pressure of living up to that contract.